Biography BISON was formed at the start of 2004 by a small group of friends who had been spending time writing and busking together and wanted to expand their project. The prime directive was, and remains, the generation of FUN. Having been in previous bands that either folded or atrophied through ego clashes or sense of humour deficit, they handpicked their team by carefully selecting the most FUN people that were available in Sheffield at the time. There was no prefigured musical agenda. They ended up with a gymnastic reggae drum and bass combination, a heavy ska brass line up, rock's finest on lead guitar, a light funk touch on keys, folked up rhythm guitars, the bluest of harps and vocalists who stray errantly between the corners of the known musical universe. An epicurean mix indeed, but a pure distillation from this melting pot yields a unique sound, and, importantly, the much-desired ingredient aplenty. From the first gig in May of last year, BISON has galvanised crowds and developed a small but determined following across the North of the country, from Leeds to Manchester, Sheffield to Nottingham. They've also played Amsterdam and London, always successfully pulling a crowd and getting them moving on the dancefloor. Bison are beginning to get a name for themselves on the festival circuit. In 2005, for the second year running, they headlined the Peace in The Park festival in Sheffield, as well as headlining the opening night of the Bradford festival in June. They played Sheffield's Sharrow festival in July and the wonderful Shambala festival in Devon in August. In 2006 they hit a number of festivals including the Rocket festival in Andalucia. In 2007 they are already booked in for Glastonbury, Shambala and Endorse-it In Dorset. CD - The Beast With 9 Backs The Beast with Nine Backs is Bison's self-produced twelve-track CD, a bisonic bargain at $9.99. What you get for your money: - 5 studio-recorded versions of classic Bison tunes. - The Kendal Mint Takes; a selection of jams, live recordings and skits all recorded in a cottage in the Lake District in February 2005. - A live track from Bison's triumphant gig at West One Four in London. Press Comments "Bison are a storming live act" (Sandman Magazine - March 2005) "Bison seem set to become the Sheffield party band" (Sandman Magazine - September 2004) I'm so massively impressed by Bison and...would recommend that if you see they're playing go check them out...you won't be disappointed. (Sandman Magazine - May 2005) "One of the more original sounds to come out of Sheffield" (Sheffield Star - March 2005) "Bison's real power...comes when these tracks are performed with all the enthusiasm and showmanship of one of their live shows" (Sheffield Telegraph - March 2005) "Very unlike a normal Friday night gig in Sheffield town. In fact, this is different from most other gigs anywhere." (BBC South Yorkshire - March 2005) "Infectiously catchy music that simply cannot be pigeon-holed" (BBC South Yorkshire - March 2005) "The ska genre has never been so freely played with: they pulled and twisted it so that at times it felt like a New Orleans jazz band was toying with ska, rather than the other way around." (Sandman Magazine - October 2004)